Re: Machine Shop

On 2/24/2025 1:05 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Mon, 24 Feb 2025 11:44:02 -0500, Zen Cycle <funkmaster@hotmail.com>
wrote:
 

... If one needed to look down to shift, they shouldn't be racing.

 My touring bicycle has downtube shifters.  When I was riding it, I
would look down before shifting at the start of the ride.  After I
became accustomed to its position, I didn't need to look down.

Looking down is reasonable to see if one's friction shifters had the derailleur sideplates precisely clear of the chain and chainring before starting. I doubt anyone older than 11 needs to look down to find the levers.
I don't look down to grab a water bottle out of its cage. It's always in the same position.

... I ... can now type on the letter keys without looking at the keyboard.
However, the rows of numbers, function keys and number pad are a lost
cause.  I have to look at those.

 From time to time, I had enough numerical data to process that I taught myself to use the number pad without looking. It's not hard. (But its weird that telephone key pads are not the same layout as keyboard keypads.)

What's happening is that people have varying degrees of hand-eye
coordination.  Some people can type or play piano with their eye's
closed. 

Try playing fiddle or cello! There are no frets, so there's no visual markers to look at. Stopping the string against the fingerboard has to be done entirely by muscle memory and near instantaneous auditory correction, if necessary. On fiddle, it's most difficult when shifting upward from first position to play in a higher position. By comparison, guitar, clarinet, flute etc. are much easier, IME.
--
- Frank Krygowski